No Victory, No Sacrafice
by Mari Knickerbocker
Summary: Sam Witwicky's older sister is coming home from war He's about to learn how the family moto can be changed to fit a broken spirit Can he with the help of the Autobots help his sister see that even in the face of defeat a sacrafice does not go unrewarded
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. I wish I did, but unfortunately, I am just not that lucky. This particular fic is based off the movie; therefore, any plot bunnies you do not recognize from the movie are actually products of my own deranged mind.

* * *

**No Victory, No Sacrifice**

"Charlie is coming home." Sam announced to both Mikaela and the Autobots. There was a certain air of gloominess about him when he said that, one that was at odds with how he had been acting for most of the evening.

The two teenagers were no longer lying on the Bumblebee's hood; instead, they were sitting underneath the tree by the edge of the cliff. Well, Sam was sitting with his back supported by the tree trunk. Mikaela was lounging on the ground with her head resting in Sam's lap. All of the Autobots had transformed into their robotic forms and had 'parked' themselves around the tree. No one was worried about anyone coming by and spotting the aliens, the sun had set and the night was getting on. Besides, the "perch" as Sam called it was remote enough that nobody went there on a regular basis.

"Charlie," Mikaela asked her brows wrinkled. "I thought you didn't have an older brother, just an older sister."

"Charlie is my older sister," Sam replied with a week chuckle. "It's really Charlene but we always call her Charlie."

"Where was she?" Bumblebee asked, now that his voice box was fixed he never passed by an opportunity to speak.

"Well, for starters she's in the army and was stationed at that base in Qatar that Blackout had attacked. I talked to Captain Lennox though and he said she wasn't there when the attacked happened." Sam paused to take a breath before continuing. "Apparently she had been transferred to somewhere in Iraq and how she's been honorably discharged from the army."

"That's a good thing, right?" Mikaela persisted.

"Yeah, I guess so. My parents seem to think so."

"You don't sound all that happy about it." She pointed out.

"I asked Captain Lennox what it would take for a solider to be honorably discharged, he said doing something really heroic and getting injured, or just getting badly injured. It would have to be a horrible injury, something that made the army think that they couldn't use her anymore," Sam told her staring off into space. "Either way you cut it the sister that is coming back to me isn't the sister I remember."

"You do not know this Samuel Witwicky," Prime told him, and his voice sounded disproving.

"Do you have reasons to think that she will be injured?" Ratchett asked.

"I don't know what to think."

"Look on the bright side Sam," Mikaela told him trying her best to cheer him up. "Your sister is going to be home, for good. Besides she couldn't have changed that much."

"She's right," Ironhide agreed. Although the look he directed at his fellow Autobots told a different story. Each of them knew the effect of war, more importantly the effects of injures one received in battle. There was not just physical scaring, but emotional and mental scaring as well. Moreover, unlike the Autobots, this Charlie was human – mere flesh and blood – it took a lot more to heal flesh than it did to repair damaged steel and circuits.

"I guess so." Sam acknowledged beginning to sound a bit more like his normal self. "Hey, she'll have to adjust to me being a teenager now; I was just a kid when she left."

"What do you mean 'just a kid' the war hasn't been going on that long." Mikaela asked him with one raised eyebrow.

"She joined the Air Force long before the war began; she's been stationed in Germany ever since I was ten."

"Oh, then she's a lot older than you." Mikaela said with a small smile. Sam was only seventeen, and she really doubted that there was more than ten years between the two siblings. She also seriously doubted that Charlie would have all that much to adjust to, Sam may be seven years older now but Mikaela didn't really see him as having changed all that much.

"Yeah, she's the reason my parents got married – well one of the reasons."

"When will she be home?" That was Prime.

"Tomorrow."

"Will you introduce her to us?" Bumblebee asked.

Sam was quite for a few minutes then smiled imagining telling his older sister about how he helped to save the human race.

"I wouldn't dream of not telling her."

* * *

His parents had left hours ago to pick up Charlie from the airport. Sam had been waiting impatiently the minute his parents had walked out the door. He contemplated going for a ride and picking up Mikaela about a dozen times before finally giving in and leaving. When he got to Mikaela's house, he was still wound tight with nerves. Mikaela suggested going for a drive and Sam readily agreed.

He had left his house around 4 pm and got back after a three and half hour long drive. When Bumblebee disguised as a Camaro pulled into the driveway, the sight of lights on in the house greeted them as well as his parent's car in the driveway.

"Well I guess their home," Sam announced to both Mikaela and Bumblebee before getting out of the car. At the sound of car doors slamming shut, Ron Witwicky stepped out of the kitchen and into the backyard.

"Where have you been?" He greeted his son. "Hello Mikaela."

"Nowhere special."

"Humph, well your sister is home."

"Where is she?" Sam asked craning his neck to see past his father half-expecting Charlie to join them.

"She's in the spare bedroom," at that Sam dogged past his father intent on making his way up to the spare bedroom. "Sam she's resting!" Ron yelled after the retreating form of his son. He shook his head in disbelief after Sam.

"Come on inside Mikaela, can I get you something to drink?"

Sam paused in his headlong rush just outside the spare bedroom, he wasn't sure if he should knock or just barge right in, so he opted for standing awkwardly on at the threshold. The occupant of the room must have sensed Sam standing there for after a few minutes he heard a faint, "Come in."

He opened the door slowly and stepped into the room with great reluctance. The first thing he noticed was the army duffel bag slumped across the desk chair. Then he saw the crutches leaning against the foot of the bed as well as the woman in the bed propped up by a mound of pillows.

"Well lad are you just going to stand there or are you going to give your sister a proper greeting?" She asked a small smile playing about her lips and mirth twinkling in her brown eyes. That was all the invitation Sam needed.

He went over and sat down on the bed wrapping his arms around Charlie. She returned the hug, but it was stiff, nothing at all like the huge, warm, bear hugs she used to give him. She was thinner than he remembered too, nothing but whipcord muscles and bone.

"It's good to see you Charlie."

"Don't lie Sam," she told him releasing him from her embrace. "You're terrified to see me."

Her eyes were suddenly serious and Sam did not know what to say in response to that. Especially when her already piercing brown eyes were made more intense by the faint scaring, he just noticed on her face. She looked like she was staring at him from out of a death mask. Sam could only look away. A silence fell between them, one that Charlie was the first to break.

"So Dad tells me that you have yourself a girlfriend," It was a statement more than a question. Sam nodded. "Do I get to meet her?"

"Sure I can bring her up if you like?" Sam offered jumping at the chance to make conversation, any kind of conversation. He had actual jumped of the bed in his haste to get Mikaela.

"No need, I can go down to her. I'm not a cripple you know." Charlie told him swinging her legs to the side of the bed and throwing the blanket off them. It was then that Sam realized why she had been sent home. Her left leg was gone from the knee down. He stared at the spot where her calf had been unaware of what he was doing or how rude he was being.

"Sam would you be a dear and hand me that crutch." Charlie asked, ignoring her brother's rudeness. She then reached under the bed and came up with an artificial limb; she fitted it into place before rolling down her khaki's pant leg. With her pants, covering the artificial limb her leg looked like it had never been amputated. If one just ignored the fact that her knee no longer bent it was possible to fool oneself into thinking that she had never been injured in the first place.

Mutely Sam handed her the crutch, and with its help, Charlie was able to heave herself off the bed. They stood there staring at each other for a while before Charlie decided to head towards the doorway.

"I may not be able to get around as easily as I use to," she told him over her shoulder, "but I am not a cripple."

**

* * *

**

**Author's note: **I was hoping that this would have remained a one shot, but it just got too long. So I'm gonna break it up into a couple of chapters and I'm pretty sure that it won't go beyond that.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The trip down the stairs was slow, painfully slow, but Charlie insisted on making it without any help from Sam. He let her, after all that was all he could do. They made it to the back porch where Charlie promptly leaned up against the house to rest. The laborious journey took more out of her than she was probably willing to admit.

Sam was painfully aware of the fact that his parents were starting at him, well glaring at him was more like it. Mom, especially did not look at all happy about seeing Charlie downstairs and Sam guessed that she was going to blame that on him.

"Sam what are you doing dragging your sister down here?" She said her voice going up an octave and confirming Sam's suspicions. "She needs to rest, help her back upstairs then leave her alone."

"Relax Mom," Charlie said after having regained her breath, "it was all my idea."

Judy Witwicky stared at her twenty-five year old daughter as if she had grown a second head. To her credit, Charlie stared serenely back at her mother. Sam knew that his sister was aware of the brewing storm and he marveled at her indifference, she had always been able to shrug off their mother's temper with an ease he envied. Actually, Charlie had always known how to handle their mother, she was better at it than Dad.

"It's sweet of you Charlie to come to your brother's rescue like that," Judy began and Sam rankled at the implication that he needed rescuing – especially in front of Mikaela. Never mind the fact that was exactly what was happening. "But you don't need to cover for him honey."

"I'm not Mom." Charlie insisted quietly.

"Really Charlie you need your rest."

"I have had my fill of rest."

"Charlene!"

"Judy."

At that they seemed to have reached an impasse, neither woman would budge. Sam shared a look with Mikaela and he was surprised to see that she was slightly amused. Personally, he was embarrassed. The two women continued their power struggle silently now and it was Judy who caved.

"Ron where's my wine." She demanded passing between her children to enter the kitchen. Ron followed her giving his eldest an apologetic look. Charlie acknowledged his look but did not seem too repentant about arguing with her mother.

"Sorry you had to witness that," she told Mikaela, "I'm sure you've noticed by now but Judy can be a little presumptuous when it comes to her children." She finished with a wry little smile. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that isn't the first awkward conversation you've had to witness."

"That's true," Mikaela admitted with a smile of her own. They waited then, looking at Sam expectantly.

"Oh! Charlie this is my girlfriend Mikaela, Mikaela this is my sister Charlie."

"It's nice to meet you Mikaela," Charlie said pushing herself off the wall and hobbling over to shake Mikaela's hand. Mikaela met her halfway.

"It's nice to meet you too Charlie."

Silence fell over them then. Sam was at a lost on how to proceed. Out of habit, he looked pleadingly at his older sister, attempting to find some help. As always, Charlie was there for him.

"Do you still go for a walk to the perch Sam?"

"Walk?" Mikaela asked sounding surprised, "You use to walk to the perch?"

"Yeah," Sam responded clutching at the chance for a conversation. Particularly such a mundane conversation, it kept him from blurting out the questions he really wanted to ask Charlie. "Charlie and I use to walk there everyday, it was our thing."

"Really, that sounds like a great brother/sister bonding time."

"I always enjoyed it." Charlie admitted. "Although when he was younger I usually ended up having to give him a piggy-back ride on the way home."

"How cute." Mikaela exclaimed and Sam could tell that she really meant it.

"Well Sam?" Charlie pressed for the answer to her question.

"Well I still go there as often as I can, but I usually drive now."

"So Dad let you get a car?" Charlie asked with genuine curiosity and enthusiasm. In fact they were the most genuine emotions Sam had seen her display all day.

"Yeah."

"Did he take you through the Porsche dealership before going to a really cruddy used car dealer?" She asked with actually amusement dancing in her brown eyes. Her amusement light up her face and now it was the face he remembered.

"Yeah he did." Sam answered and Charlie chuckled at his expression.

"He's so cheap." She said rolling her eyes and shaking her head in resigned amusement. "Well let's see your love mobile boyo." She said giving him a teasing wink. Mikaela burst out laughing at that, and Sam tried to stammer out a denial. Charlie waved it off.

"Where's your car Sam?"

"It's in the driveway," he answered and Charlie motioned with her hands for him to lead the way.

They made their way off the porch and along the stone path, their father had installed in the backyard. Charlie took her time, stumbling every once and a while over an uneven stone. When they finally reached the driveway Sam stopped and upon her first sight at her brother's car, Charlie grabbed his shoulder in a crushing grip. Sam could not tell if it was out of surprise or a need to regain her balance. In all likelihood, it probably was both.

"Sam that's a Camaro." She told him breathlessly, clearly in awe. "It's in mint condition."

"Yeah a lot of work went into it," he told her with an ironic smile.

"Are you sure that you're capable of handling such a fine tuned machine?"

"Capable enough," he was not about to point out how often that 'fine tuned machine' proved him incapable of handling anything. "Well what do you say Charlie, wanna go for a ride?"

Charlie tore her eyes off the Camaro long enough to stare at her brother.

"Duh!" She answered.


End file.
